


Relaxing at the Coast

by MissKi



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Day At The Beach, F/M, Fluff, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Relationship, That we were robbed of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 00:11:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20398462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissKi/pseuds/MissKi
Summary: The Kingdom's army relaxes on Derdriu's coast for a day before heading back.A small moment in time between Dimitri and Byleth.





	Relaxing at the Coast

“Dimitri!” Byleth called to her former student. She turned her face to enjoy the coastal wind blowing through her hair. “I have an excellent idea,” she crossed her arms confidently, “and you cannot say no.” Dimitri looked at her warily, unsure of what to expect. “Let’s go to the beach!” Dimitri sighed and closed his eye.

\---

The sun shines brilliantly along Derdriu’s coastline, with soft, fluffy clouds sluggishly moving through the sky on a gentle breeze. In Byleth’s mind, this was the perfect day to relax at the beach. They just defended Claude and Derdriu from the Empire forces, and Claude entrusted the Alliance territories to them before he left for Almyra. All in all, it had been a whirlwind of a day, so relaxation sounded like an excellent idea. 

Really, Byleth thinks to herself, it had been the most excellent idea she’s had off the battlefield in a long time. She stretches out on the sandy beach and rolls onto her stomach. Sliding her gaze over to her left, she takes in the scene before her. Dimitri stood a few meters away, talking intently to Dedue about something. Her eyes slid down Dimitri’s lean figure. It wasn’t often she was able to see him – and appreciate him, her mind added – in casual clothing. He wore plain brown riding pants and an unbuttoned white shirt. His normally unkempt hair – well, most of it – was tied up. Dedue wore similar attire, having placed his armor safely with their supply caravan. Byleth herself had taken off her overcoat in the Derdriu heat. She felt a little guilty sometimes, studying her former students so intently. They had all grown up without her. Each one of them had new scars, new strengths. It fascinated her. And to be honest, there was one former student in particular who entranced her. The student she felt most conflicted and guilty about. The one student she needed to be there for, but wasn’t. She averted her eyes before she became overwhelmed and fixed them forward. 

What she finds causes her to smile softly – Petra had shucked off all her clothes – minus her undergarments – and was playing around in the water. It must remind her terribly of Brigid. Petra looked to the beach and beckoned Byleth over, grinning. Byleth could never refuse Petra anything, especially when she smiled, and today was no exception. She stripped off to her undergarments and ran towards the water, aiming to tackle the princess. 

“I’ve got you!” Byleth shouts as she charged forward. 

Giggling, Petra dodged. “Not yet, Professor! I was raised always around water.”

At Byleth’s shout, Dimitri turns towards the ocean. He watches the two women splashing and swimming after one another. Perhaps it was good to relax here for an afternoon, considering how it was raising morale. Even the battalions were enjoying the beach further down the shore. And Byleth especially deserved some relaxation after all she had done for the Kingdom. For him. If she desired something, Dimitri would do his damn best to make it happen. It was the least he could do, considering how deeply in her debt he was. He would be in her debt for his entire life, probably. It didn’t bother him in the slightest. Working to make Byleth happy and content for the rest of his life in a new, peaceful world sounded like a great plan. He just wasn’t sure if she would be happy with that. Yet.

Dedue watched Dimitri for a few minutes before clearing his throat. He was happy to see his lord at peace after all that transpired since Duscur. Even during academy days, Dimitri was not at peace like now. “I will be heading back to Mercedes and Annette, your highness.” Dimitri blinks and turns back to face his friend, embarrassed that he tuned out of their conversation. 

“I apologize Dedue, I was distracted. I’ll see you this evening at dinner.” Dedue nods and leaves, leaving Dimitri alone standing on the beach. 

Dimitri sits down on the sand with a grunt. He was a little sore from their battle, but it was not serious enough to bother the healers with. It would fade by the time they made their way back to Kingdom lands. He lays back and brings an arm to cover his face. He had the ring in his pocket, but he didn’t want to push anything until after the war was over. It simply wasn’t the time to bother Byleth with declarations of love. They all had a war to fight, and they needed to stay focused. But sometimes in the downtime between battles, through tender glances across the dining hall, gentle caresses on the training grounds, and warm smiles over tea, it was easy to forget the high-stakes, life-or-death situation they were in. In those little moments, there was only Dimitri and Byleth. No, not even that. There was only a lost man and a found woman. 

\---

Someone was locking his limbs down. He wakes with a start and flips the enemy over, pinning them down with his weight. Something was wrong. Enemy? He was just relaxing at the beach. His guarded eye meets wide, mint green eyes as he looks down at the “enemy.”

“Ah, Professor! I’m so sorry! I was asleep, and it felt like my legs were being held down, so I just… reacted.” Dimitri pleads his case to his Professor. Her eyes are still wide, but her face is void of emotion otherwise. Her light green hair fans her face.

“I almost succeeded, though…” She speaks quietly, brow furrowing.

“What?” Dimitri asks, completely confused.

“I almost buried you in the sand!” She purses her lips. “I only had your shoulders to go, but you flipped all of the sand over effortlessly.”

“Buried?” Dimitri asks, not understanding. He looks over to where he had rested up until sixty seconds ago. 

“Yes, buried in the sand. Only your head was supposed to be above it. Petra told me it was something they did on the beach for fun,” Byleth explains, “I asked her how best to enjoy a day at the beach since I’ve never been to one before.” Dimitri turns back to her, understanding dawning on his face. 

“Should I… lay back down? For you to try again?” He squints his eye in thought. “Should I pretend to be asleep or can I stay awake this time?”

“I’m not sure. I want to try again, though.” Byleth nods.

“Okay then, we’ll try it again.” Dimitri smirks. He rolls them over until she lays in the depression his body left. Byleth sucks a breath in surprise and struggles against his hold.

“This isn’t what I meant, Dimitri!” Her voice rings out, tinged with annoyance. The prince only laughs in response before making quick work of burying her under the sand. Byleth huffs and gives in. Dimitri seemed to be enjoying himself, and who was she to stop him? She loved seeing him smile. A smile changed his entire face, from the set of his jaw to the slant of his brows. He was absolutely radiant when he smiled. It was a far cry from the deranged grins he would wear, and Byleth would do everything in her power for the rest of her life to chase away his suffering. 

“Professor?” He bends down and peers into her eyes, blocking the sun from her vision. Blocking anything except for his face from her vision, really. “What’s wrong? Did I go too far?” Nervousness laced his voice.

“No, Dimitri, I was just thinking about something.” She closes her eyes and sighs. She opens her eyes and meets his worried gaze. Her face carries the hint of a smile. “You’ve really buried me, huh? How do I look?” 

“Uh, you look like a floating head, I suppose.” He looks away, a blush tinting his cheeks.

“A beautiful floating head?” Byleth inquires in a flat voice.

“Wh-what?” Dimitri spins his head back to meet her eyes again, eye wide, cheeks now flaming red.

Byleth laughs, and Dimitri is spellbound.

**Author's Note:**

> someone who is good at writing write me some beach fics PLEASE thank u
> 
> all feedback welcomed, advice extra welcomed, links to hot dimileth pics extra extra welcomed


End file.
